Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003) by Azar Nafisi

Reading Lolitain Tehran by Dr. Azar Nafisi is a memoir of a woman teaching literature in Islamic Iran. In 1979, Nafisi has returned from America to begin teaching literature at the University of Tehran as the revolution unfolds.

The book is broken into 4 sections (this has become a common trend among modern books– 4 sections, approximately 70-75 pages in length): 1) the chapter “Lolita” focuses on Nafisi’s book club with several women who are reading Nabokov as well as others, and their struggle to deal with being a woman in the Islamic Republic of Iran; 2) “Gatsby” deals with Nafisi’s time as a university professor immediately following the revolution in the late seventies and early eighties; 3) “James” involves much of the Iran-Iraq war throughout the eighties; 4) “Austen” concerns Nafisi’s difficult decision to leave Iran and her “girls” in the book club and return to America.

Each section is beautifully written and by the end one cannot help but imagine a circle has been completed. Nafisi is adept at analyzing literature and the way she blends books and reading and her time in Iran is smooth and enjoyable. There are some memorable passages, and some will be quoted, but perhaps one of the most memorable is the time Nafisi and her literature class put The Great Gatsby on trial for being an immoral book and the debate that ensued.

In addition, Nafisi is skilled at making great intellectual leaps from the books she is teaching and to every day events that transpire around her. “In all great works of fiction,” writes Nafisi, “regardless of the grim reality they present, there is an affirmation of life against the transience of that life, and essential defiance. This affirmation lies in the way the author takes control of reality by retelling it in his own way, thus creating a new world. Every great work of art, I would declare pompously, is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life. The perfection and beauty of form rebels against the ugliness and shabbiness of the subject matter. This is why we love Madame Bovary and cry for Emma, why we greedily read Lolita as our heart breaks for its small, vulgar, poetic and defiant orphaned heroine” (pg. 47).

What is so very unique and delightful about this book, and so intellectually rewarding, is the mixture of reality and imagination–the desire to live in a free world and the passion to live in an imaginary one, and not entirely without a sense of humor. “I heard Yassi laughing. Trying to lighten the mood she was saying, ‘How could God be so cruel as to create a Muslim woman with so much flesh and so little sex appeal?’ She turned to Mahshid and stared at her in mock horror” (pg. 52).

“But my girls spoke constantly of stolen kisses, films they had never seen and the wind they had never felt on their skin. This generation had no past. Their memory was of a half-articulated desire, something they had never had. It was this lack of, their sense of longing for the ordinary, taken-for-granted aspects of life, that gave their words a certain luminous quality akin to poetry… As long as he accepts the sham world the jailers impose upon him, Cincinnatus will remain their prisoner and he will move within the circles of their creation,” this last part referencing Invitation to a Beheading by Nabokov (pg. 76).

What some people fail to realize, or have never learned or mislearned at one point, is the true reason behind Iran’s revolution. At the end of the 1970s, the revolution in Iran was not to install an Islamic Republic but to dispose of Pahlavi’s monarchy. Many protesters called for a democracy (a call for more freedom not less, writes Nafisi), but as King Pahlavi fled the country, he left a hole wide open for a despotic and zealous regime to step in and impose religious order on the masses. What was once sacred, became mundane.

“There was a very brief period, between the time the Shah left on January 16, 1979, and Khomeini’s return to Iran on February 1, when one of the nationalist leaders, Dr. Shahpour Bakhtiar, had become the prime minister. Bakhtiar was perhaps the most democratic-minded and farsighted of the opposition leaders of that time, who, rather than rallying to his side, had fought against him and joined up with Khomeini. He had immediately disbanded Iran’s secret police and set the political prisoners free. In rejecting Bakhtiar and helping to replace the Pahlavi dynasty with a far more reactionary and despotic regime, both the Iranian people and the intellectual elites had shown at best a serious error in judgment” (pg. 102).

“We all wanted opportunities and freedom. That is why we supported revolutionary change [much like the modern revolutions a few years ago in Libya and Egypt]– we were demanding more rights, not fewer” (pg. 261).

Oh, what could have been for such a wonderful nation like Iran. But their path forked, their destiny changed. And the wearing of the veil, which took several years to become implemented, became a symbol of the regime’s power and not of religious devotion for many. “All through my childhood and early youth, my grandmother’s chador had a special meaning to me. It was shelter, a world apart from the rest of the world…Now the chador was forever marred by the political significance it has gained. It had become cold and menacing, worn by women like Miss Hatef and Miss Ruhi with defiance” (pg. 192).

For the past three years, I have spent much of my time in studying Iran and the revolution that changed the fate of a nation and a people the year I was born, and this is one reason why I read Nafisi’s book, to understand the changes post-revolution on a more intimate level from the point-of-view of one who lived under such tyranny. One of the most profound statements I came across in the book was this: “Islam has become a business,” writes Nafisi, “like oil for Texaco” (pg. 275).

And later, I strongly agree with a statement she makes at the back of the book in the interview section: “No government or state should tell its people how they should worship God, and in fact no government or state should tell its people that they should worship God. It should be completely free and private” (pg. 367). If God granted men and women free will (as most man-made religions claim), so should men and women grant free will upon each other when it comes to one’s spiritual path.

Nafisi’s book is enchanting at times, relating accounts of women in love and women jaded, and, yet, at other times it is horrifying to read the accounts of rapes and murders and the bombings during the Iran-Iraq war. Nevertheless, and in the end, Nafisi has a special way of showing how truly important, and life-changing, literature can be when shared with friends and strangers alike.

A strong recommend. A truly rewarding read.

English: On February 24, 2010, Dr. Azar Nafisi lectured at the National Library of Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CG FEWSTON has travelled across continents and visited such places as Mexico, the island of Guam, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Taipei and Beitou in Taiwan, Bali in Indonesia, and Guilin and Shenzhen and Beijing in China. He also enjoys studying and learning French, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin.

“Fewston delivers an atmospheric and evocative thriller in which an American government secret agent must navigate fluid allegiances and murky principles in 1970s Tehran… A cerebral, fast-paced thriller.”

“A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN is a thrilling adventure which takes place in pre-revolutionary Tehran. Author CG FEWSTON provides a unique glimpse into this important historical city and its rich culture during a pivotal time in its storied past. This book is so much more than a love story. Skillfully paired with a suspenseful tale of espionage, A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN is a riveting study of humanity. Replete with turns & twists and a powerful finish, FEWSTON has intimately woven a tale which creates vivid pictures of the people and places in this extraordinary novel.”

CG FEWSTON was born in Texas in 1979 and now lives in Hong Kong. He is the author of several short stories and novels. His works include A Father’s Son, The New America: A Collection, Vanity of Vanities, A Time to Love in Tehran, and (forthcoming) Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being, and (also forthcoming) Little Hometown, America: A Look Back.

His novel, A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN, won GOLD for Literary Classics’ 2015 best book in the category under “Special Interest” for “Gender Specific – Female Audience” and has been called a “cerebral, fast-paced thriller” by Kirkus Reviews, where it gained over 10,000 shares.

A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN was also nominated for (& lost) the following 2016 book contests: the PEN/Faulkner Award, the John Gardner Fiction Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the Young Lions Fiction Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Pushcart Prize. Heartbreaking, lyrical and eloquent, this remarkable novel confirms CG FEWSTON’s place among America’s finest novelists.

CG FEWSTON has travelled the world visiting Mexico, the island of Guam, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Taipei & Beitou in Taiwan, Bali in Indonesia, and in China: Guilin, Shenzhen, Sanya on Hainan Island, Zhuhai and Beijing. He has spent several years living in South Korea, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. He also enjoys studying and learning French, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Among many others, CG FEWSTON’S stories, photographs and essays have appeared in The Penmen Review (“The Old Man in Beijing: A Christmas Carol” & “Y2K Meditations”), Adelaide Literary Magazine – from New York and Portugal (“A Day in the Life of a Guitarist”), Sediments Literary–Arts Journal, Bohemia, Ginosko Literary Journal, GNU Journal (“Hills Like Giant Elephants”), Polychrome Ink Literary Magazine, Contemporary Literary Review India (“The Girl on the River Kwai”), Tendril Literary Magazine, Prachya Review (“The One Who Had It All”), Driftwood Press, The Missing Slate Literary Magazine (“Darwin Mother”), Gravel Literary Journal, Foliate Oak Magazine, The Writer’s Drawer, Moonlit Road, Nature Writing, and Travelmag: The Independent Spirit; and for several years he was a contributor to Vietnam’s national premier English newspaper Tuoi Tre, “The Youth Newspaper.”

A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN won GOLD for Literary Classics’ 2015 best book in the category under ”Special Interest” for “Gender Specific – Female Audience”… Finalist in the 2015 Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction… Finalist in the 2015 Mystery & Mayhem Novel Writing Contest…

FEWSTON “delivers an atmospheric and evocative thriller in which an American government secret agent must navigate fluid allegiances and murky principles in 1970s Tehran… A cerebral, fast-paced thriller.”

“A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN is a thrilling adventure which takes place in pre-revolutionary Tehran. Author CG FEWSTON provides a unique glimpse into this important historical city and its rich culture during a pivotal time in its storied past. This book is so much more than a love story. Skillfully paired with a suspenseful tale of espionage, A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN is a riveting study of humanity. Replete with turns & twists and a powerful finish, FEWSTON has intimately woven a tale which creates vivid pictures of the people and places in this extraordinary novel.”

“Thus one skilled at giving rise to the extraordinary is as boundless as Heaven and Earth, as inexhaustible as the Yellow River and the ocean. Ending and beginning again, like the sun and moon. Dying and then being born, like the four seasons.”

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About the Author

CG FEWSTON was born in Texas in 1979 and now lives in Hong Kong. He is the author of several short stories and novels. His works include A Father’s Son, The New America: A Collection, Vanity of Vanities, A Time to Love in Tehran, and (forthcoming) Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being, and (also forthcoming) Little Hometown, America: A Look Back.

CG FEWSTON is a member of Club Med, AWP, Americans for the Arts, and a professional member & advocate of the PEN American Center. CG FEWSTON has emerged as a leader in literature with a seasoned voice of reason, fairness and truth while becoming your American novelist for the 21st century.

When asked in an interview why he writes and for whom, he answered: “I write for my children so that one day they will have something to read from their father.”

His fourth novel, A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN, won GOLD for Literary Classics’ 2015 best book in the category under “Special Interest” for “Gender Specific – Female Audience” and has been called a “cerebral, fast-paced thriller” by Kirkus Reviews, where it gained over 10,000 shares.

A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN was also nominated for (& lost) the following 2016 book contests: the PEN/Faulkner Award, the John Gardner Fiction Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the Young Lions Fiction Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Pushcart Prize. Heartbreaking, lyrical and eloquent, this remarkable novel confirms CG FEWSTON’s place among America’s finest novelists.

CG FEWSTON has travelled the world visiting Mexico, the island of Guam, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Taipei & Beitou in Taiwan, Bali in Indonesia, and in China: Guilin, Shenzhen, Sanya on Hainan Island, Zhuhai and Beijing. He has spent several years living in South Korea, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. He also enjoys studying and learning French, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin.

While in Vietnam, CG FEWSTON was also founder and owner of Bumblebees Childcare and Kindergarten, bringing quality and premium education to thousands of children in need.

Among many others, CG FEWSTON has contributed several short stories, photographs and essays to The Penmen Review (“The Old Man in Beijing: A Christmas Carol” & “Y2K Meditations”), Adelaide Literary Magazine – from New York and Portugal (“A Day in the Life of a Guitarist”), Sediments Literary–Arts Journal, Bohemia, Ginosko Literary Journal, GNU Journal (“Hills Like Giant Elephants”), Polychrome Ink Literary Magazine, Contemporary Literary Review India (“The Girl on the River Kwai”), Tendril Literary Magazine, Foliate Oak Magazine, Prachya Review (“The One Who Had It All”), Driftwood Press (“The Boy of Eight Summers”), The Missing Slate Art & Literary Journal (Story of the Week, “Darwin Mother”), Gravel Literary Journal, Edify Fiction, Shandy Pockets, Anak Sastra, Crab Fat Literary Magazine, Dirty Chai, Nature Writing, The Writer’sDrawer, Moonlit Road, Travelmag: The Independent Spirit, and Go Nomad. For a number of years, he was also a contributor to Viet Nam’s national premier English newspaper, Tuoi Tre: “The Youth Newspaper.” In 2009, he had a Highly Commended short story “Lazarus, Come Forth!” in the Tom Howard Short Story, Essay, and Prose Contest.

Born and raised in Texas, CG FEWSTON graduated from Brownwood High School and, later, from Howard Payne University with a B.A. in English & American Literature. After receiving his first Master’s degree in Education for Higher Education Leadership and Administration (honors) from JIU in Colorado, he received his M.A. in Literature (honors) from Stony Brook University in New York where his thesis “An Unnatural Demise” was nominated for the Deborah Hecht Award. While a Seawolf, CG FEWSTON was a member of University Scholars and also the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). He received his M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University, where he is proud to be a fellow Penmen.

While at Southern New Hampshire University, CG FEWSTON had the honor and privilege to work with wonderful and talented novelists, such as Richard Adams Carey (author of In the Evil Day, October 2015; and, The Philosopher Fish, 2006) and Jessica Anthony (author of Chopsticks, 2012; and, The Convalescent, 2010) as well as New York Times Best-Selling novelists Matt Bondurant (author of The Night Swimmer, 2012; and, The Wettest County in the World, 2009, made famous in the movie Lawless, 2012) and Wiley Cash (author of A Land More Kind Than Home, 2013; and, This Dark Road to Mercy, 2014). While at SNHU, CG FEWSTON also participated in writing workshops ran by Mark Sundeen, Ann Garvin, Jo Knowles, Diane Les Becquets, and Benjamin Nugent (all brave, enthusiastic and talented writers).

CG FEWSTON’s published works include:

A FATHER’S SON (2005); one collection of short fiction, THE NEW AMERICA (2007) – named a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence 2008 Awards; VANITY OF VANITIES (2011); and, A TIME TO LOVE IN TEHRAN (2015) was a Finalist in the 2015 Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction, a Finalist in the 2015 Mystery & Mayhem Novel Writing Contest, and won GOLD for Literary Classics’ 2015 Best Book in the category under “Special Interest” for “Gender Specific – Female Audience”. Heartbreaking, lyrical and eloquent, this remarkable novel confirms CG FEWSTON’s place among America’s finest novelists.

Forthcoming: Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being, and (also forthcoming) Little Hometown, America: A Look Back.

“CG FEWSTON” is a pseudonym and phonetic spelling of “CG FUSTON.” “CG” is a familial cognomen handed down multiple generations. “FUST-ON” is a surname derived from the original family name of “FUST.”

The Rhineland, a German province, is the ancestral home of the FUST family. The name was derived from the Old German word “fust” meaning “fist” and was held by a person strong in nature and character as well as combative and warlike.

After the 17th century, to escape religious persecution, many Rhinelanders settled across North America, especially in Texas—which is where the author CG FEWSTON is from.

Historically, the FUSTs would emerge in the Rhine region and in Bavaria as a noble family involved in economic, social and political affairs. One of the most famous FUSTs, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, was Johann Fust (c. 1400 – 1466), who was an early German printer and the financial backer for Johannes Gutenberg, who would become the inventor of the printing press and printing in Europe. Until 1506 the name was written as “FUST” when Peter Schöffer called his grandfather “FAUST,” which is said to have inspired the story of Doctor Faustus.